‘Hey, where is everyone?’ Communicating with your family during disasters

Family making an emergency plan / FEMA

Have you ever planned an event with your friends or family? You decide where to meet and how to reach one another if someone is late or gets lost. You also pick someone to be in charge of transportation. Having plans in place ahead of time helps create a successful gathering.

Getting your family ready for an emergency is kind of like organizing a family activity. There are many similar things to think about: Do you have a plan if something goes wrong? Do you have supplies? Do you know where to meet or how to contact one another?

Chances are not all family members will be together when a disaster strikes, so it’s important to plan ahead. Talk to your family about what to do in advance of a disaster. This will help reduce fear and anxiety when things are tough.

Here are a few key tips for communicating with your family before and during disasters:

1. Meet with your family about why you need to prepare for disasters.
2. Talk about the types of disasters that are most likely to occur in your area.
3. Pick three places to meet based on each situation.
4. Develop a communications plan in case family members are separated from one another. Complete a contact card for each family member and place it in their wallet, purse, book bag or backpack.
5. Communicate with text messages during a disaster, as cell phone service may be out. Text messages often go through when a phone call might not.
6. Program your cell phone with your “ICE” contact, short for “in case of emergency.” Emergency workers will check for ICE contacts if something bad happens.  If you have put a lock on your phone, you might want to think about putting a sticker with your ICE contact on the back of your phone.

Everybody’s needs are different, but we can each take important steps to prepare our families for disasters. And communication is key.

For more information on preparing families for disasters, check out  American Red Cross’s Get a Kit. Make a Plan. Be Informed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Develop a Family Disaster Plan and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Family Emergency Plan Template.

APHA’s Get Ready campaign also offers a fact sheet for parents in English and Spanish to help your family make a plan.

Get your mobile phone disaster-ready

According to the American Red Cross, more Americans are using social media and apps during disasters. Mobile phone apps and social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter are now tied as the fourth most popular way to find information in an emergency, after TV, radio and the Internet.

Cellphones, smartphone apps and social media tools are especially useful during disasters when phone lines are down and power is out. That’s why the Federal Emergency Management Agency is focusing its 2013 Resolve to be Ready campaign on including these technologies in your emergency preparedness plans. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Mobile phones: The following tips are useful for any type of cellphone:

• Add “ICE” contacts to your phone. ICE, or in case of emergency, contacts will help first responders get in touch with your loved ones if an emergency happens. It’s a good idea to add a local ICE contact and one that lives out-of-state to your phone’s list of contacts. 


• Text — don’t call — when phones are busy. Phone lines are often busy during and after emergencies as many people try to contact loved ones, but oftentimes texts can get through. Make sure everyone in your family knows how to send text messages. 


• Find out if you can get Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone. FEMA and many U.S. cellphone carriers have teamed up to create a system for Wireless Emergency Alerts. These are messages sent to your phone just like text messages, only they contain emergency information. These could be sent during disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or terrorist attacks. You don’t need to sign up for these alerts — they are automatically sent to most cellphones. To check and see if you can receive these messages on your phone, visit the Wireless Emergency Alerts website.

Smart phones: Can you access the Internet or download apps on your phone? Here are some more ideas to use your phone to get ready:

• Download emergency apps. If you have a smartphone, there are many apps you can download that can be very useful in an emergency. The American Red Cross has created apps to help people during earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires. The organization also has a first aid app and an app to help you find a local shelter during a disaster. You can find more information about these apps (and get them for free!) on the Red Cross website.


• Use social media to let friends and family know you’re safe. In a recent survey, Red Cross found that 76 percent of Americans use social media to check in with friends and family after an emergency. Posting a simple message such as “There was a tornado in my neighborhood — power is out but we are OK” on your Facebook or Twitter account can help let people know that you are safe. 


• Find local emergency information online. Check Facebook and Twitter to see if your local government, fire or police and local Red Cross chapters have set up accounts and follow them before an emergency happens. On a national level, you can also follow organizations such as FEMA, the American Red Cross, Ready.gov and other trusted sources. APHA’s list of national and regional emergency preparedness Twitter users is a good start. And don’t forget to follow @GetReady on Twitter!


• Reminder: While these sources are great, if you are in a life-threatening situation, remember to always call 911 first.

Do you have any other tips for preparing with your mobile phone? Do you have another emergency app you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments!

Resolve to be Ready in 2013

Are you fully prepared for a disaster? There is always something more to do to make sure that you and your loved ones are ready in case an emergency happens. That’s why we’re suggesting a New Year’s resolution: Resolve to be ready in 2013!

The “resolve to be ready” reminder comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Ready campaign, and this year the agency is focusing on getting people to include technology in their preparedness plans. For example, almost 55 percent of Americans now own smartphones, so FEMA wants to help people “turn the technology in their purses and pockets into a life-saving tool during and after an emergency or disaster.”

Among FEMA’s technology preparedness tips:

• Store important documents such as personal and financial records online or on a flash or jump drive.
• Buy batteries and car-charger adapters for wireless devices and make sure to keep batteries charged.
• During a disaster, send text messages rather than voice calls, as text messages may be more likely to get through when networks are busy.
• If you need life-saving aid, call 9-1-1. Don’t text or tweet to 9-1-1.

Get Ready can help you learn how to use technology to be prepared in the New Year, too. Check out our recent podcast about learning to be tech-ready.

Here’s to a healthy, happy and safe New Year!

What are your preparedness resolutions this year? Tell us in the comments!

Are you tech ready? Check out our new podcast on digital disaster preparedness!

The Get Ready campaign recently spoke with Amy Donahue, a reference librarian at the Medical College of Wisconsin, about preparing for a disaster digitally.

In our new podcast episode, Donahue gives tips for using technology to help us before, during and after an emergency. She has suggestions for how to make sure technology will work for us when we need it most — things like having extra batteries and having a plan for charging your phone when the power goes out. 

Donahue also explains how librarians can help when disaster strikes.

“We can help people identify good resources for disaster information. We can help them find new sources if they don’t know where to start. And then we can also help work with community partners,” to help people share information before, during and after an emergency, she says.

In addition to preparing your tech gear, Donahue reminds us that “nothing beats having the kit, having the plan, making sure all your technology will help you and not hinder you before an emergency ever strikes.”

You can listen to the newest Get Ready podcast and read the transcript here, or subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes!

Is there a specific topic you think we should cover in our next podcast? Let us know in the comments!